You're Fired for Blowing That Whistle

A whistle blower who warned about shoddy research at NIH lost his bonus because he stood up for safety. Dr Jonathan Fishbein was up for a $2,500 bonus for improving AIDS research and safety. But Dr Fishbein reported poor patient protections and slip-shod government research practices. Suddenly, NIH fired him for "poor performance." Now it turns out that superiors plotted to fire him after he blew the whistle on them. An e-mail from his boss says "we must overwhelm with force" Dr Fishbein's efforts to improve safety. This is the National Institutes of Health. The people who head it up are scientists. You'd think the idea of leaving a paper trail wouldn't be brain surgery or rocket science. (USA Today)